All of Ulster’s games for the next three seasons will be shown live on Premier Sports after the broadcaster announced a three-year deal with EPCR that will see them exclusively show every game in the European Champions Cup in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Besides one game per week that will be dual broadcast on each of RTE in Ireland and S4C in Wales, all 63 games in Europe’s premier club rugby competition will be shown exclusively on Premier Sports until the end of the 2026/27 season, replacing TNT Sports as lead broadcaster.
The deal will also see Premier Sports continue to show two Challenge Cup pool games a week, two of the round-of-16 ties and all of the Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final of the second tier competition.
As part of the new deal, Premier Sports have also announced they will be launching a dedicated rugby channel, which will be anchored by the Champions Cup and will show the sport exclusively 24/7, alongside the United Rugby Championship and French Top 14.
It’s good news for Ulster fans in that they can now watch all of the province’s games this season on one channel due to Premier Sports also holding the rights to the URC.
The province begin their URC campaign on September 21 with a home game against the Glasgow Warriors at Ravenhill, with their Champions Cup bid beginning on December 8 with a trip to defending European champions Toulouse.
“Premier Sports has huge ambition to become the home of club rugby in the UK & Ireland, along with their rights to TOP14 & URC competitions,” commented EPCR’s chief executive officer Jacques Raynaud.
“We are delighted to join them on this journey and tremendously excited to help them reach new heights by bringing the very best of elite club rugby to UK and Ireland audiences.
“In addition to the match day coverage, the creation of a 24/7 rugby channel represents a step-change in Premier Sports rugby coverage. The Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup will be at the heart of this new offering, led by key rugby personalities including Stephen Ferris, John Barclay, Tom Shanklin and Ryan Wilson.
“Furthermore, we have been able to work with Premier Sports to ensure new fixture times for English clubs, avoiding clashes with Premier League football to maximise viewing.
“We have worked with the team at Premier Sports for many years both on the EPCR Challenge Cup in the UK and Ireland and as our broadcaster in Asia. We have been very impressed with their commitment and ability to raise the profile and production of URC coverage to exciting new levels and we look forward to working with them as EPCR continues the ambitious growth of its competitions.”
Mickey O’Rourke, the founding managing director of Premier Sports said: “We are delighted and proud to bring the world’s greatest international club rugby competition to our customers in the UK and Ireland.
“Our exciting new TV partnership with EPCR and the marquee offering of all 63 Investec Champions Cup games live in the UK and Ireland, complements our existing URC and TOP14 coverage and shows our innovation, ambition and growth as a broadcaster.
“We will now provide the most comprehensive rugby club coverage available across the UK and Ireland with 80 top European rugby fixtures, 151 URC games across five rugby nations and 110 TOP14 games live – making Premier Sports the destination for any rugby fan – and we will be driving significant investment into raising the profile of EPCR’s competitions to new and existing audiences.
“Every week will be rugby week at Premier Sports, with a stellar talent line-up of top pundits, presenters and commentators leading our coverage. We will look to mirror the pride, passion and excitement that EPCR, players, clubs and supporters invest in European rugby every season and bring fans closer to the action and the game’s star players.
“We are equally excited to welcome new rugby customers to Premier Sports and will be offering affordable annual and monthly subscription offers to support all rugby fans.”
As has been the case in previous years, the French rights to broadcast EPCR competitions will be negotiated separately, with beIN Sports currently holding those rights.